Movies List
TV Show List
Man in the Saddle

as Nan Melotte

1951
The Baron of Arizona

as Sofia de Peralta-Reavis

1950
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout

as Frances Oatman

1950
Stars in My Crown

as Harriet Gray

1950
The Crooked Way

as Nina Martin

1949
The Man from Colorado

as Caroline Emmet

1948
Johnny O'Clock

as Nelle Marchettis

1947
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt

as Irene Cotter / Natalie Cotter

1946
Isle of the Dead

as Thea

1945
China Sky

as Louise Thompson

1945
The Impostor

as Yvonne

1944
That's My Baby!

as Betty Moody

1944
Night Plane from Chungking

as Ann Richards

1943
The Remarkable Andrew

as Peggy Tobin

1942
Ice Capades Revue

as Ann Porter

1942
My Favorite Spy

as Teresa 'Terry' Kyser

1942
The Night of January 16th

as Katherine "Kit" Lane

1941
The Monster and the Girl

as Susan Webster

1941
The Mad Doctor

as Linda Booth

1941
Christmas in July

as Betsy Casey

1940
The Texas Rangers Ride Again

as Ellen 'Slats' Dangerfield

1940
The Gracie Allen Murder Case

as Ann Wilson

1939
Geronimo

as Alice Hamilton

1939
If I Were King

as Huguette

1938
Night of Mystery

as Secretary

1937
Ellen Drew Ellen Drew

Birthday

1915-11-23

Place of Birth

Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

Biography

Talented Missourian Ellen Drew. born as Esther Loretta Ray, was the daughter of an Irish barber. She worked various jobs (accountant, salesgirl) to support her family until her fresh-faced good looks and high-wattage smile earned her a couple of beauty pageant trophies. Encouraged to try her luck in Hollywood, she was discovered in somewhat typical Lana Turner fashion. While working at an ice cream parlor, customer William Demarest took notice of her and was instrumental in having her put under contract at Paramount Studios in 1936. Initially billed as Terry Ray, she was groomed in starlet bits for two years until finally given a role she could sink her teeth into in the Bing Crosby musical Sing, You Sinners (1938). Her hair was changed from brunette to auburn (sometimes blonde) and her moniker changed from Terry Ray to Ellen Drew. Brighter roles came her way with If I Were King (1938), which clinched her celebrity, Women Without Names (1940) and Buck Benny Rides Again (1940). Ellen seemed destined for top-flight stardom, but somehow it didn't happen. She never managed to distinguish herself among the bevy of Hollywood beauties on display and so remained on the outer fringes for most her career. Despite fine roles in fine movies, notably the Preston Sturges classic Christmas in July (1940) and the Dick Powell starrer Johnny O'Clock (1947), Ellen's film career went on a steep decline. In the 1950s she transferred her talents to TV before retiring the following decade. Married four times, including writer/producer Sy Bartlett, she left one son and several grandchildren when she passed away in 2003 at age 88 in Palm Desert, California.
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